Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl

When I was home in Austin last week, I was in charge of making the desserts for my mom’s giant Eid party. One of the desserts I made was the giant chocolate banana cream pie in the previous entry. The other dessert was a raspberry cream cheese swirl cake. I used my go-to yellow cake [...]

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Chuy’s – Austin

I don’t care how “touristy” Chuy’s has become… I grew up on their Tex-Mex, and as long as their recipes stay the same, I will always love it. The family and I headed over to Chuy’s for dinner the other night and had ourselves a mini Tex-Mex feast:
Tortilla Chips the way only Texans make em [...]

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Adams Express – DC

So apparently, my hood is home to the best Korean food in DC. As DC is hardly a haven of Asian cuisine, this isn’t necessarily saying much…but the food at Adams Express is definitely worth the hype. First of all, the place itself is absolutely adorable. Well, adorable in that hole-in-the-wall, slightly dingy, feels-like-you’re-actually-in-the-owners’-kitchen kind [...]

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Jello Never Again

Just made this recipe for Double Chocolate Pudding from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Double-Chocolate-Pudding-101532
It tastes AMAZING and was SO easy to whip up. It’s such a simple recipe that it really allows the chocolates (that’s right, it calls for more than one kind) to shine – hence its amazing flavor. One small adjustment: I used an actual vanilla bean [...]

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Cooking in Austin

Chicken tetrazzini just went into the oven…I love cooking at home I’m using a Giada recipe, though I added a ton of fresh sage (b/c we have an abundance of it in the backyard) and a handful of fresh rosemary for funsies. I also used breaded chicken cutlets instead of plain chicken breasts [...]

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Ode to Frozen Shrimp

My friends, I have recently made a wonderful discovery: frozen EZ peel shrimp from my local grocery store! I used to be very much anti-frozen seafood, but this stuff has completely turned me around. It’s super easy to work with – thaws very quickly under cold water, the peels slide off w/ minimal effort, [...]

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New Favorite Quick Lunch from Pret!

Pret a Manger (aka “Pret), a great London-based sandwich/salad/soup/etc. shop, opened up an outlet across the street from my office earlier this year. It didn’t take me long to get addicted to their phenomenal croissants, which are pushed over the top by the fact that they are kept warm until the moment of purchase, so [...]

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Founding Farmers! – DC

Had dinner Monday night with one of my favorite people, A (you happy now, missy? ) at one of the first restaurants I truly loved in DC: Founding Farmers!
She went with the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, a vegetarian favorite. It’s served on artisan bread that has just the right amount of graininess, and [...]

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Agraria – DC

Yet another fantastic meal today…my opinion of the DC food scene is definitely starting to pick up!
Agraria is a fun place on the Georgetown waterfront; its outdoor seating patio is dog friendly, but it doesn’t actually face the river; instead, it’s right next to that big gorgeous fountain, which adds a lovely soundtrack of rushing [...]

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Brasserie Beck – DC

Like Vidalia, I visited Brasserie Beck back when I was a summer associate and was underwhelmed. And like Vidalia, I was blown away on this visit. Every single thing I ate at lunch today was superbly delicious, and I cannot wait to go back to this restaurant. In fact, I’m adding it to my ’short [...]

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